2: Blonde?

Tilda stood at the kitchen entrance in her red silk, ankle length nightwear; her eyes threatening fire and brimstone as she glared at me. She looked older with a frown, all her edges were crinkled including her forehead. Behind her was Agatha; she looked like she just saw a ghost or something.

“I said what’s going on here?” Tilda bellowed.

“Umm...I…” I stuttered while putting more distance between myself and Mason.

“Come on mum,” Mason said in a calm tone, “we were just talking okay?” he put the glass down on the counter and cast me a glance, with a smirk on his lips. “See you later clumsy,” he threw over his shoulder as he left the kitchen.

“I will deal with you later,” Tilda barked as she followed immediately behind her son. Mason was the carbon copy of his mother. He had her charcoal black hair, perky nose and thin lip, but he did not have her brown eyes. He had his father’s blue eyes. Thankfully he also had his father’s gentle nature.

As Agatha marched towards me, I braced myself for a long lecture. “What is wrong with you?” she barked gripping my shoulders tightly. “Are you trying to get us fired?”

“Mum! You’re hurting me,” I managed to shrug off her tight grip. I only called her mum whenever I got in trouble, it usually helped in melting icy cold heart. My relationship with my mother has always being strained for as long as I could remember, and everything that happened with my father, made our relationship completely fall apart. I used to hope that someday, we will finally get to sort out our issues.

But slowly that hope fizzled away and now, I didn’t care anymore, by spring and she would not have to deal with me anymore.

She raked her trembling fingers through her curly brown hair, her expression flickering between fear and annoyance.

“Stay away from Mason and his family. Keep your head down, do you hear me?”

“We weren’t doing anything wrong,” I managed to say.

“I don’t care!” she squeaked. “You should not be doing anything at all with him!”

When I don’t respond, she sighed and added, “Hurry up and come to bed.” She turned and walked away, leaving me with my piles of dirty plates.

Regardless of the short drama, only one thing rung in my head over and over again, “see you later clumsy.”

Mason wanted to see me again.

________

I adjusted my skirt and unpacked my hair, letting it fall freely down my back. Then I tapped on the door gently.

“Come on in,” Mason’s voice echoed from behind the door. I pushed the door and entered. Mason and his friends stood around the pool table in his room. They all turned to look at me when I entered.

Mason’s stormy blue eyes lingered on my exposed legs. I blushed and looked away. “I brought drinks,” I announced.

“What happened to the other girl we sent?” one of his friend, with short led hair and floral shirt asked in an amused voice.

“Shut up Elliot,” Mason said as he took the tray containing a bottle of vodka and four shot glasses, from me.

“Julia asked me to bring it to you,” after I had practically begged her with folded hands to let me serve them, just so I could see Mason. It’s been days since I saw Mason. Agatha made sure I never crossed paths with Mason. She would always assign me to the laundry room or to do grocery runs.

She would flip if she found out where I was right now, but Julia was no snitch.

I turned to leave when Mason grabbed my hand and flashed the prettiest smile ever at me. The eruption of butterflies in my stomach threatened to unbuckle my knees.

“Can you play pool?” he asked.

I shook my head, as my lips were still in shock from the contact.

“I could teach you,” he said pulling me towards the pool table.

“I don’t know,” I say reluctantly. I can’t risk Agatha finding out where I was and who I was with.

“Come on clumsy, humor me.”

“My name isn’t clumsy.”

“You wouldn’t tell me your name.”

“You never asked.”

He let go of my hand. “I think I like clumsy better.”

“Well I don’t,” I folded my hands over my breast, with a defiant look on my face. On a spur of the moment I blurted, “I will play pool with you, if stop calling me clumsy. Deal?” I stretch out my hand.

At the end, I spent hours in the game room, learning how to play pool and stealing glances at Mason, which I’m sure he must have noticed.

When I returned to the laundry room, I met a livid Julia folding the laundry.

“She has finally returned,” she said.

I giggled and hugged her tightly. Julia was my only friend and the only one amongst the staff that was also a teenager like myself.

“Where you drinking?” her eyes widened in surprise.

“Just a smidge,” I giggled.

“Your mum would kill you.”

“If she finds out,” I winked at her.

Julia rolled her eyes at me. “Just be careful, okay?”

I just smiled and skipped out of the kitchen. I was over the moon, I was high on love not vodka. Mason liked me too, he wouldn’t have spent his entire afternoon with me if he didn’t like me. Maybe I stood a chance, to be in his life, to be his….

I pushed my bedroom door open and found Agatha standing by the window and staring into space. My smile immediately disappeared. I considered walking away almost immediately.

“Come in and close the door,” she said, as though she could read my mind. I obeyed reluctantly.

“Where have you been?”

“I was doing the laundry,” I lied.

“Don’t lie to me young lady!”

“I… Julia asked me serve Mason and his friends drinks. It’s no big deal.”

“No big deal?” she scoffed. “I could you hear your laughter from the hall and here you are, reeking of alcohol and telling me it’s no big deal.”

“I just had a few drinks, I am not a child anymore. I am nineteen!”

“Then start acting your age! Can’t you see he is trying to play you?”

“What? You don’t even know him!”

“I don’t need to know him. That is what people him do. They lure you in with promises, just to sleep with you. Then they discard you!”

I stared back at her feeling nothing but disgust and anger. “Screw this shit!”

I stormed off, slamming the door behind me as rushed out of the house and into the garden. I needed to breathe. It was as though Agatha never wants to see me happy. Always butting into my life with her know it all attitude. Mason was good, I can see that, why can’t she?

The smell of fresh flowers always soothed me. So I strolled further into the garden and towards the fountain. I hate fighting with my Agatha, now my perfect day has being ruined. If only….

I stopped dead in my tracks, as my eyes fell on Mason standing by the fountain.

His arms were tightly wound around a blond woman I’ve never seen before.